Eel soup

Eel soups are a type of fish soup eaten in the cuisines of countries of Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

The German Hamburg Aalsuppe is made by adding cooked pieces of eel to a sweet and sour soup.^[1] Ham bones, dried stone fruits, herbs, and dumplings made from flour are often included, and the eel is sometimes smoked.^[2] Recipes have appeared since at least 1788 in Hamburg;^[3] according to Alan Davidson, Aalsuppe emerged as a variation of an older German sweet and sour soup tradition, through the addition of eel.^[1] Jane Grigson considered this soup "delicate and delicious" and among the best fish soups, based on a preparation made with dried pears.^[4] According to a folk etymology, the soup was originally made from leftover ingredients with "everything in it" (alls drin), except eel.^[3] Another eel soup eaten in Denmark under the name Ålesuppe is described by Davidson as "clearly related" to the German Hamburg Aalsuppe.^[5]

In France, eel has been eaten in soup since at least the 14th century. Eel soups appear in several suggestions for banquet layouts in Le Ménagier de Paris (1393), and a recipe is given for "Light green eel broth". In a modern translation, this is given as:^[6]

Skin—id est , flay or scald—the eels and put them to cook in water with wine, in very small pieces. Then grind parsley and toasted bread, and sieve. Have on hand ground peeled ginger and saffron, and boil it all together, and when almost done, add morsels of cubed cheese.

Eels are still eaten in soup in France, included as an element of Bouillabaisse.^[7] In Britain, eel soups were particularly popular during the 18th century.^[8] The English cook Hannah Glasse included a recipe in 1747 in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy under the title "An Eel Soop", alongside several other eel dishes,^{[9] [10]} flavouring the dish with herbs, mace, onion and pepper, and advising that "a Pound of Eels will make a Pint of good Soop".^[10] Eel soups made with Conger eels continue to be prepared in South West England, using the petals of marigold flowers as an ingredient.^[11]

As of the 1960s, eel soup was being eaten in the Netherlands under the name Paling soep, particularly around Lent.^{[12] [13]} In Italy, eel soup is prepared in Comacchio, a town on the River Po where large numbers of eels are caught. Carrots, celery, onion, parsley and lemon are sliced, and added to a cooking vessel with eel and water. Midway through cooking, vinegar and tomato paste are added.^[14]

In A Gift to Young Housewives , a Russian cookbook compiled in 1861 by Elena Ivanovna Molokhovets  [ru], several recipes for eel soup are given, including clear eel soup and eel and green pea soup.^[15]

Eel soups have been eaten in Japan since at least the 1600s.^[16] Eel soups are still eaten in Japan, served in restaurants that specialize in the fish.^[17] One version is known as kimosui, which uses the liver of the eel.^[18] Outside of Japan, eel soups are also eaten in China.^[19]

In the New England region of North America, Native Americans historically made thick soups out of the local eels. One of these preparations was recorded by the English settler Daniel Gookin, who in 1677 reported eels being eaten in a maize gruel, cut in pieces without first removing their bones. Eel soups were still being eaten in the 19th century by Americans living on the country's east coast,^[20] and in the early 20th century by the Penobscot people. Writing in 1910, the anthropologist Frank Speck described their food preparation habits: "Eels are split open, the backbones being taken out and saved to put into corn soup, and the carcasses hung up on a frame like the smoking rack to dry or to be smoked. In winter they are frozen. Boiled over again and they make excellent soup."^[21] In Canada, eel soups continue to be prepared among some Mi'kmaq who reside on Cape Breton Island. These are prepared using small eels, while large eels are baked.^[22]

In Chile in South America, the fish and potato soup Caldillo de congrio contains pieces of conger eel in a broth flavored with tomato, onion and garlic. The dish is famous in the region, and was a favorite of the poet Pablo Neruda, who wrote Oda al Caldillo de Congrio  [es] (lit. 'Ode to the Conger Eel Soup') in honour of a version containing shrimp and cream swirled through before serving.^[23]

• Eel as food

• Eel dishes
• Fish and seafood soups

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